High-quality unboxing photos: late 2008, 13" MacBook

The new 13" MacBook replaces the previous entry level plastic models with a rigid new aluminum unibody that looks a lot like a scaled down version of the new MacBook Pro, or stuffed-full version of the MacBook Air. The family resemblance is certainly unmistakable. Here's what it looks like out of the box.

The new 13" MacBook, like the 15" Pro version, now comes in a white box (below).

Typical packaging materials (below).

Front right corner (below) houses the IR sensor behind the visible slit, and an invisible-while-off sleep indicator LED that hides behind a micro-perforated aluminum window.

The case is so square (below) that it easily stands at attention as if begging for treats.

As with previous plastic MacBooks, the optical drive is on the top right edge.

The left edge houses all the ports, with the significant exception of Firewire and the Pro's ExpressCard slot. Alas, no more room on the logic board.

The back is split into two panels, the smaller third which opens easily with the finger lever action, and the larger panel that requires eight screws to be removed first.

The removed panel exposes the silver battery and the black hard drive. Plastic tabs on both make removal a snap, although the hard drive is held in place with a single screw.

With the battery removed, the back side of the trackpad is revealed, as well as the perforated cover that routes the battery terminal to the logic board as well as the battery level indicator integrated into the side of the unit.

I was in the Apple store in Liverpool (UK) yesterday just as they arrived and were put out for display. They look good! Just while I was there for 20 minutes or so, I saw at least 4 people buy either a MacBook or a MacBook Pro, and one guy come in to replace his (recently bought) MacBook Pro for a new model. I think they'll do well.

Tried the trackpad and I'd actually forgotten they lacked I button. It wasn't until I'd used it for a few minutes and decided to try the multitouch gestures that I noticed the button wasn't there and I'd been clicking away for ages! I didn't notice it was glass either, it felt pretty much as it does on the old MacBooks.

It seems to work a lot better than the Pro version for some reason? The speaker grilles on the Pro look a little unconsidered to me? You would have thought that they would have rounded the edges rather than having sharp corners that ruin the otherwise consistent aesthetic.

The new MacBook does pretty much everything that I needed the previous Pro to do accelerated graphics, illuminated keyboard, support for a 30-inch monitor. And so it should, it's priced like the previous entry level Pro.

Whilst I'm a vocal and constant critic of a glossy screen on a Pro model, I don't mind it so much on the consumer model.

In the past, I've weighed up the previous MacBooks and MacBook Pros, and invariably decided that the quality of the screen, and the increased screen real estate was worth the extra money. But given that the Pro models are now glossy, and therefore not suitable for the type of work that I do, there's no point in me stepping up to the Pro version.

I'll be nipping in to my nearest AppleStore to check one out but I suspect that it will be just too glossy for me. At least the old Pro versions are still available!

Whilst I'm a vocal and constant critic of a glossy screen on a Pro model, I don't mind it so much on the consumer model.

In the past, I've weighed up the previous MacBooks and MacBook Pros, and invariably decided that the quality of the screen, and the increased screen real estate was worth the extra money. But given that the Pro models are now glossy, and therefore not suitable for the type of work that I do, there's no point in me stepping up to the Pro version.

I'll be nipping in to my nearest AppleStore to check one out – but I suspect that it will be just too glossy for me. At least the old Pro versions are still available!

If you want a MacBook Pro, Amazon are providing huge discount for the matte - found link via Gruber.

The old PB G4 had a different case, different internals. It was a completely different product. Sure, Apple could have designed a different logic board and a different new case.

But that's not what the article is saying. It is saying with the logic board they have designed there is no room fire FW without removing something else. Look at a tear down of them if you don't believe it.

But that's not what the article is saying. It is saying with the logic board they have designed there is no room fire FW without removing something else. Look at a tear down of them if you don't believe it.

It is obvious than the lower part is almost 100 % devoted to power supply(DC-DC converters). It is full of medium power FETs used to chop the battery power and inductors/capacitors used to smooth the resulting waveform. Unfortunately, these can't be integrated into silicium and they have to be at least moderately big to be efficient. I don't think it was really possible to cram more stuff in so a tight area.